Sadako [Blu-ray]

Not Terrible, But A Bit Hairy
Historically, everything in the "Ring" media franchise has been pretty rock-solid. The main films are classics, and Koji Suzuki's original novel is on par with many things Stephen King has written. The various manga adaptations have also been entertaining, and from hearsay, the TV drama was solid. Heck, even the Dreamcast game, "Ring: Terror's Realm" is so bad that it's actually brilliant as a comedic experience.

So when somebody finally decided to update the infamous antagonist Sadako to be relevant to a modern audience (read: not in a videotape), I was reasonably excited. But while "Sadako 3D" does manage to succeed in being a relatively frightening horror flick with an interesting backstory, its confusing placement in the continuity and the lukewarm plot make it the weakest link of the series.

"Sadako" follows a young school-teacher who is haunted by a traumatic childhood experience in which she was almost killed by a psychotic man wielding a knife. To save...

Sadako 3-Dud
Ack! This is horrible. Familiar premise to Ring (Ringu) fans -- a cursed video claims lives mysteriously. Unfortunately from the beginning this film has three strikes against it: 1.) everyone by now is at least passingly familiar with the cursed video concept; 2.) this movie does not make a convincing progression on this concept (a mad loner wants to strike back by harnessing the power of Sadako simply because his website got "burned" i.e. criticized?); 3.) the 3D gimmick and the CGI thrown in look like they were done on someone's home computer -- badly done and inserted randomly in the movie. The actresses and actors are good enough, but due to the bad script, direction, and effects this movie is completely scare-free for me. Out of desperation or lack of ideas the roughly last one third becomes something like a Universal monster movie (but making less sense); and then, worst of all, ... well, I'm not going to give out a spoiler but let's just say this movie does not end like...

"Sadako 3D" not bad at all. Decent blu-ray transfer.
The "Ringu" franchise is a fascinating phenomenon. This latest chapter in the series is not a bad film. It has its creepy and shock moments. But it is a little over-the-top. The films may never have the impact of Hideo Nakata's original "Ringu" film. But nontheless, "Sadako 3D" is fun to watch on a Saturday night with it raining outside, the lights out and surround sound. The maniacal madman at the helm is a little bit much at times but the scares make for decent viewing. For me, this blu-ray was a day one purchase due to my love for Asian Horror Films with some of my favorites being "Ringu", "Dark Water", "A Tale of Two Sisters", "The Eye", "Shutter", "Phone", "Alone", "The Eye 2", "One Missed Call", "Re-cycle", "Carved The Slit-Mouthed Woman", "The Red Shoes", "Dumplings", "The Cat" aka "Two Eyes That See Death" and others. If you are a fan, give "Sadako 3D" a chance, you just might like it and the price is right. UPDATE: 2-D blu-ray quality is pretty decent with a nice blu-ray...

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